


Sacrifice for the Cause

by Elsa12TMNT (Anonimousli_Kanonical)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Criticism, F/M, Forced Relationship, Meta, Other, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Undertale Saves and Resets, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonimousli_Kanonical/pseuds/Elsa12TMNT
Summary: Sans is sick of pretending to be happy with his life for Frisk's sake. Going out of his way to keep THEM happy is difficult enough. Happiness means contentment. Contentment means no more resets. (Part of my Ship Opinions and Oneshots series that will NOT be continuing.)
Relationships: Frisk/Sans (Undertale), Frisk/Toriel (Undertale)





	Sacrifice for the Cause

Sans considered himself an abnormal monster. Well, truly, it was in one respect. He had a freak ability that he shouldn't have possessed. He knew he shouldn't. It was cruel to bestow upon someone, especially without reason. How could it be given to someone without determination? It shouldn't have been possible. Yet it was.

He had the ability to remember different timelines. When the world got reset, when the word got destroyed, when the world got SAVED, he remembered it all. It was such a secret, private piece of himself that he never shared it with anyone, for fear of being considered crazy. That had happened in the past. But, as of now, no other being knew of his ability. Well, that excluded Frisk of course - his anomaly.

In all honestly, Sans would rather not refer to them as such, but the name, unfortunately, fit. Through the years, he had experienced horrors in between resets from Flowey the flower, though he could never track him down as the guilty party. At that time, Flowey was "the anomaly". Now, that life goal – finding him – had closure. He knew who was responsible now, and, thankfully, Flowey would never again be a concern. Now, it was much different. The thing that caused him anxiety had changed. And it all started when Frisk fell into the Underground. The first time, that was.

Sans felt that, now, the purpose of his existence was to stop the dreaded True Reset from happening ever again. As he had mentioned once to Chara (another phenomenon that Frisk had explained to him) ever since they had fallen, he was dedicated to keeping them happy. Happiness meant contentment. Contentment meant no reset. He knew all too well that when Frisk felt heartbroken, depressed, and lonely, they wouldn't cut. They wouldn't cry. Then would reset. It was how they coped.

Sans considered himself successful at his job. Currently, he was maintaining a record of 5 years with no reset. Seeing Papyrus, Alphys, Toriel, Undyne, Asgore, and the others so happy on the surface was rejuvenating, and kept him going whenever he was unsure of himself and his capabilities. The harder things to recover from had always been moments when he had to abandon his own preferences, and wants for his life, so Frisk could continue to be satisfied with the surface. That particular day, he was at Grillby's, reflecting on a horrible turn of events. Actually, it was more like grieving over it.

The previous year, Frisk had asked Sans out on a date – a _serious_ one. He felt nothing romantic towards them, but because of his job, he was stuck with it. The relationship came with a gigantic price, however. Even since Sans and Toriel had gotten to know each other through their exchanges across the Ruins door, he had developed feelings... for the goat mom. Up above ground, they had teased and flirted with each other. It had been one of the few things that gave him pleasure as he coped with the stress he faced on a regular basis. That is, until Frisk asked him out. Of course, he could not tell them no.

So when the couple announced their "status", Toriel had a bone-chilling conversation with him. "Sans, I..I just wanted to let you know," she had said, "that I am sorry. For being a fool." He had been surprised. A fool to what? "This whole time...," she said, tearing up, "I had...romantic feelings for you."

"Tori..." He had started to respond, but the shock of the moment, the happiness, the disappointment, the anger at himself for missing his chance, kept him silent. "I was planning to ask you on a proper date soon enough, and well, I guess I assumed..." She had drawn in a long breath, fighting back wells of tears, "that our age difference would not have been an issue for you. But, it seems that you are attracted to a much, much, younger generation." Her head had hung, and her voice had been filled with sadness.

Regret. Sans had been full of it in that moment. He loved Tori; he couldn't bear to break her heart this way. When she had said much, much, younger generation, she meant it in all extremes. Toriel was a boss monster and, therefore, lived for much longer than anyone else. Of course this would make her feel the way she had felt. Sans felt extreme guilt for being the cause of her spilled tears.

"If it weren't for you being my friend, and Frisk being my child," she had bravely continued, "I could see myself fighting against them for your attention, but... given these circumstances...it would most definitely be wrong of me to do so." Sans' gaze and hers met. She sadly smiled. "Well, I guess it wasn't meant to be." At those words, Sans' heart broke in two.

"Although it pained me to tell you about my feelings towards you, I felt you should know." She turned in the opposite direction. Sans had so badly wanted to outstretch his hand to her and tell her this was all wrong, he didn't love Frisk, but he couldn't. He was forbidden to do so. "Good luck, Sans. May the two of you be happy together." She had walked away after that final comment.

That moment had hurt Sans. It left a scar, that, for him, served as a reminder of who everyone was at the mercy of. Frisk. Despite his pain and heartbreak, he was still expected to function as normal, as well as play the role of half a happy couple. It truly had knocked him down. But that was not the horrible turn of events. No, the turn of events was much worse.

Six months after that disastrous conversation, Toriel and Asgore had rejoined as a couple.

Sans was full of general frustration. With what, or whom, was he frustrated with however? Better phrased, who was to blame for his predicament? Sitting on the bar stool, he tried to figure out the answer to that question. He couldn't blame Toriel, nor Asgore – neither had know about his interest in Tori, or were even allowed to, he realized. Though he could easily blame himself, for not stating how he felt, and going out with Frisk, Sans believed that that was not right, either. He knew his anomaly too well – when they felt a lot of negative emotion, well... To put down Frisk's request at a date was to put monsterkind at risk of being trapped underground again. The timeline being reset was something Sans could not stand to let happen. If it wasn't one of those three, then who was responsible?

Sighing, Sans checked his phone for a message from Frisk. He had been waiting at Grillby's originally because they had asked him to meet them there. For what, they hadn't said. It had been 10 minutes since their most recent text, and, concerned that perhaps something upsetting had slowed them while on their way, he sent a quick message. "Hey kid. You all right?" Luckily, Frisk took the majority of his check-ins as part of the concerned boyfriend trope. Before dating, Sans would have to be more subtle when trying to find out what was bothering his anomaly.

Quickly, a responding message popped up on his screen. "Yeah. Just got trapped in the snow for a bit. I'm almost there." Sans, thankfully, sighed in relief. The kid was good. For now, everyone was safe.

After Sans ordered a meal – what he recalled to be Frisk's favorite – and a side of fries, Frisk arrived. He turned to look at them, as they took the seat next to him eagerly. Their eyes were shining with happiness as they looked at him, but as usual, their mouth barely stretched into a smile. In all the 5 years he'd know Frisk, and possibly including the 14 years in which he didn't, they had never been known to move their mouth very much to show any kind of emotions. Unless Frisk was _extremely_ sad, or angry, or happy, their mouth stayed in its usual straight line. Despite this, Sans was at ease when he studied Frisk's expression. "hey, kid," he greeted. Their face seemed cheerful enough.

Frisk thanked him for the food, and took a couple bites. After about a couple seconds, their eyes went dull. Frisk turned to Sans, and he noticed the rapid change. Sans was immediately concerned. Did something happen? Would he have to defuse another one of their situations? What was making them upset?

Frisk said to Sans, quietly, "Sans... I have... something I want to ask you." They hung their head. "I've been wondering if, well, how..."Frisk swallowed nervously. Suspicious of the question, his eyebrows raised. What are you thinking, kid? Spit it out, he thought.

Frisk looked up at him again, drawing a breath. "I want your honest opinion Sans," they said. "How do you feel about me?" Feel about you? _Feel_ about you? Sans was shocked by the question. Hadn't he put excessive effort and time into pleasing this kid, romantic or not? Hadn't he done everything he could to make his anomaly happy with how things were? Yet, somehow, it hadn't been enough for them?

"I mean, I asked you out on a date last year because... when you're around me, somehow, life is just... better. Everyone, everything, just seems happier and more alive. Except for... well, you yourself."

You yourself? You yourself. Sans was slightly offended by that statement. His eyelids drooped; his eyebrows dropped. However, that was nothing compared to Frisk's next, sassier remark.

"See, what I'm saying is," Frisk added, "is that when it comes to love and showing affection, it doesn't really feel genuine on your part." Sans was silent as a stone; his face had "hardened" after hearing this. Frisk's face, however, had softened instead. The young adult's eyes gleamed with slight amusement as Frisk said their next words: "Sure, everything around you is good and fine, but _you_ seem to lack a little, oh, what's the word... passion."

Suddenly it hit him. As hard as taking a brick to the face. It hit him who. Was. Responsible. For his predicament. Who was truly at fault. Not Asgore. Not Toriel. Not even Sans. Rather. Frisk. When he had this epiphany, deep inside Sans, stirred anger. He tasted hatred on his tongue, as blazing as fire. He was furious with them. Why should they demand so much of his _time_ and _energy_? Why should they force him to give up the love of his life, and then expect a _genuine_ romantic relationship? At that moment, Sans thought, Frisk doesn't deserve love. Especially not mine. Frisk deserves hate. _My_ hate.

"you wanna know my _honest_ opinion of you, kid?" His eyesockets went dark. "i absolutely detest you. ever since you fell, i've made it my job to keep you _happy_ , satisfied, content... all so you wouldn't feel pathetic and _reset_ to deal with your stupid problems, yet, what do i get in return? pain, sorrow, a forced relationship. how cruel. and then, let's add, your complaints that i'm not doing _enough_ for you. well, kid, i don't owe you a single thing! you should be thankful i promised tori i'd spare your SOUL, otherwise _you'd be dead where you stand, kid_!"

Short of breath, he paused. Frisk's eyes were wide and full of fear. Hurt. They were clearly shocked. Sans realized what he had said. What he had done to Frisk. And now, the price that would have to be paid.

Well, here come the reset. He sighed, mentally preparing himself for it. He closed his eyes...

But it never came. Instead, he heard Frisk say, "Is that really how you feel about me?"

Sans' eyes opened in surprise. Of any possible response, the one he had least expected was _that_ question. But. He felt everything was going down the toilet anyway. He knew his anomaly. Frisk wouldn't be able to handle the tension and would reset shortly. "yeah. that's pretty much the whole truth right there," Sans said, defeated.

Frisk was pensive for a moment. Then, they smiled. Sans was beyond confused and puzzled; he was plain incredulous. What could he have said that made them, of all things, _smile_?

"If that's true, then...I want to say... thank you." "For what?" "Well, for everything." Sans' eyesockets widened, genuinely surprised by this comment. Frisk then shocked him even more. Their eyes lit up as they...grinned. A true grin. Unlike their usual strained stretch of the lips that, for them, was a symbol of pure joy, this was a traditional grin, so wide that part of their teeth were visible. Sans was so surprised to see this he nearly fell off his stool. Randomly, the thought that a true smile could enhance someone's looks struck him.

Frisk continued to talk. "If _you_ trying to stop me from true reseting, and all the while, hating me, is really the reason why I felt so...happy for the past five years, well..." Frisk looked a little shy. And slightly guilty. "I owe you a huge debt. These past years have been, by far, the best of my entire life – or maybe better said, existence." They giggled. Giggled? That was wildly out of character for them.

"Speaking seriously, however..." Rapidly, their expression went back to standard. A small part of Sans felt disappointed. Frisk sighed. "It must've been horrible for you – torture even – to have to go through that. And, despite how you feel about me, I care about you, Sans. So, I want to pay you back. With a promise. Well, if you're willing to take it, of course." Their eyes traveled to look downward, face full of sorrow and shame. Not wanting to hurt their feelings further, curious to know what the promise was, and, secretly wishing for them to smile again, he said, "go ahead kid. i'm all ears, i guess."

Frisk took a deep breath. They raised their left hand and, making eye contact with Sans, said, "I, Frisk Dreemurr, solemly swear... that from here, on out..." They swallowed. Whatever they were going to say next must have been difficult. Yet, they were determined to spit out the words to their promise. "...to never reset, again. Most of all, I promise Sans..." Their eyes flickered up at him. Sans was already caught off-guard by the first promise. What was Frisk going to say next? "...that he will never more have to change the world around him to keep me happy. I free him from those obligations. Instead, I swear to handle my emotions in a more...healthy manner. If necessary, I'll tell him everything. Like a confidant."

They dropped their hand and placed both it and its counterpart in their lap. "That is, if you're OK with that..."

Sans grinned. He gave them a huge hug. Frisk went wide-eyed, but they happily accepted. A wave of relief and happiness flushed over them both, and they held the hug for a moment. Then, it broke. Frisk gave Sans a "smile" – their typical smile, that is – and said, "Oh, and if you're not comfortable with us being together, we can break up if you want. I know you said you hated me, and it might be easier for you if I give you space and stuff..."

Sans considered this for a moment. Would he really be gaining anything by accepting that offer? Well, no. Not really. Toriel was lost to him forever, simply another man's woman. And today's revelations about Frisk's character had been a huge surprise to him. And anyway, besides Flowey, the only person in the world that understood his ability to remember past timelines was Frisk. Would anyone else ever understand, or even believe? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to know them a little better this way, as part of a relationship.

"nah, kid. that's ok. i don't really hate you anymore anyway, not after that promise you made. i was just upset," he said. "besides, what better excuse to support you than doing my job as a boyfriend?"

Frisk's eyes brightened. "R-Really?" Quickly, the eyes went serious again, as if to disguise their feelings about his answer. "Oh, OK. If that's what you want." Sans couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

As Frisk got up to leave, Sans said, "Wait." Frisk focused their attention on him, eyes awake. Sans felt a bit nervous about what he was going to ask. "umm, well. i've been thinking of you as my anomaly for a while now, since i was, y'know. looking out for you and stuff. and you're an anomaly in the time space continuum." He blushed, but Frisk's acceptance of it put him at ease. And hey, he finally admitted the truth to himself. "heh. would you mind if i...called you that ever?"

Frisk gave a gentle smile. "Of course not Sans. That's OK with me." They got up, placed money on the counter top for the meal he had bought them, and left Grillby's. Sans sighed. He felt much better about his situation with Toriel. He could get over it _entirely_ soon enough. With some help of course. From his new datefriend.

Sure, it would take some work, and some getting used to. And yeah, sure, technically, they had been dating for six months already. But Sans felt that, with time, he could learn to love Frisk. And the most exciting part was that, starting today, he could truly start his life on the surface. After all, Frisk promised.

**Author's Note:**

> Just as a note: I want to let everyone know that, no, I do not ship Frans. This is actually part of a series of oneshots that match up with a ship opinion "book" on Wattpad. In each oneshot, I try my best, despite the challenges, to make every pairing shine. So here is my attempt at Frans. And, of course, as I said in my ship opinion essay, since 50% of the ship appeals rely on it, AU where Sans remembers other timelines. Also, this kind of also is meant to prove that despite how you feel about a ship, there is no reason to not be decent about it and not put your feelings about it aside. So, anyway, thanks for reading, and please rate and review!


End file.
